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Stiff

The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

By:
Mary Roach

Narrated by:
Shelly Frasier

Length: 8 hrs

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
6,318

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
4,545

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
4,550

For two thousand years, cadavers have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.

Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can’t walk for a year? Have sex? Smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour?

The study of sexual physiology has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson. The research has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey's attic.

Mary Roach, "The funniest science writer in the country", devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place.

Best-selling author Mary Roach returns with a new adventure to the invisible realm we carry around inside. Roach takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour. The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: The questions explored in
Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in
Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in
Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts?

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Spook

Science Tackles the Afterlife

By:
Mary Roach

Narrated by:
Bernadette Quigley

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Unabridged

Overall

3.5 out of 5 stars
1,078

Performance

3.5 out of 5 stars
872

Story

3.5 out of 5 stars
873

In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless curiosity to bear on an array of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die. She begins the journey in rural India with a reincarnation researcher and ends up in a University of Virginia operating room where cardiologists have installed equipment near the ceiling to study out-of-body near-death experiences.

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Grunt

The Curious Science of Humans at War

By:
Mary Roach

Narrated by:
Abby Elvidge

Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
1,922

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
1,757

Story

4 out of 5 stars
1,756

Grunt tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries - panic, exhaustion, heat, noise - and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them. Mary Roach dodges hostile fire with the U.S. Marine Corps Paintball Team as part of a study on hearing loss and survivability in combat. She visits the fashion design studio of U.S. Army Natick Labs and learns why a zipper is a problem for a sniper.

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My Planet

Finding Humor in the Oddest Places

By:
Mary Roach

Narrated by:
Angela Dawe

Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
461

Performance

3.5 out of 5 stars
428

Story

4 out of 5 stars
425

Follow
New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach - but be careful not to trip - as she weaves through personal anecdotes and everyday musings riddled with her uncanny wit and amazingly analytical eye. These essays, which found a well-deserved home within the pages of
Reader's Digest as the column "My Planet," detail the inner workings of hypochondriacs, hoarders, and compulsive cheapskates. (Did we mention neurotic interior designers and professional list makers?) For Roach, humor is hidden in the most unlikely places, which means that nothing is off limits.

Violet Blue delivers details, encouragement, and every tip and trick for better oral sex while dispelling common myths and misunderstandings. In a straightforward and friendly tone, she explains how to make giving head enjoyable for both giver and receiver, how to keep your lipstick perfect, how to deep throat passionately and comfortably, and more. Additional information on positions, lubrication, shaving, anal play, fantasies, and sex toys make this the most well-rounded book on the subject of fellatio.